Ok, I was hoping to never make one of these threads, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to now

The T4R is at the dealer now. I'm have a strange but repeatable problem. I'm experiencing Steering Wheel wobble for ONLY the first 5-7 minutes of driving. The vehicle must rest between 6-8 hours for the problem to show up again. It happens at speeds between 45-80(havent gone faster than that).

When I took delivery of my 4r I noticed I had a balance issue, and the dealership fixed it right up for me. The problem all but went away, maybe only noticed it once or twice.

I just had the truck in for its first 5k service, and got the tires rotated as directed by the service manual for free. Since then I've been experiencing the wobble. Doesn't matter if the car is run direct from a cold start, or allowed to warm in the garage first before driving.

I've taken different routes, 4x2, 4x4. Varied direction and speed and still cant figure out whats up. I made sure every lug was torqued, each tires PSI all reads the same 35.

My local dealer is fantastic to work with. They kept it overnight, and gave me a car off their lot to drive until they call me with the news, but I thought I may get some extra info here.

I CAN'T HANDLE DRIVING THIS IMPALA, GIMME BACK MY 4RUNNER!!

The only thing that changes after the first 5-7 minutes of driving is the operating temperature of various components. My first thought would be tires of course. Tires do change with temperature to the rate of about 1 psi per 15 degree temperature delta.

Exactly my thoughts. But them inflating a few PSI isn't going to cause my wheel to gradually stop wobbling would it?

I've experience pretty much the same thing, but it's started happening after I got the 10K service done. Now, it's only happened to me a few times,..but it's definitely during the first few minutes of driving then it seems to go away.

I want to get new tires soon but would like to figure out what the issue is before I actually do that.

Don't know why it comes and goes but for me, every time I get service and they rotate the tires I have shimmying issues at about 55 to 60 mph. Each time I have loosened the lug nuts and hand tightened and then used a wrench and did the cross tightening routine to make sure the wheel is properly centered on the hub. Fixed it 4 out of 4 times. Mechanics tend to ram the nuts home with an impact wrench and do not follow proper tightening procedures. Hope this helps.

I'm not opposed to getting new tires as long as I can sell the old ones. But if there is a defect in them, I cannot and will not in good conscious put someone else in harms way by selling defective tires.

I hadn't tried taking the nuts all the way off and re-centering the wheel. If the dealership can't find anything, I'll try that once I get him back home.

Ouch :P

I had the same problem as what you described with my previous 4Runner. It turned out to be the tires developing a flat spot after the vehicle sat there for a while. Have the tires rotated from front to back to lessen the wobble feel, but be aware it's a temporary fix. Btw they were Dunflop tires, which are notorious for developing flat spots.

Seems to make sense. Flat spots after 6-8 hours tho. Sheesh, these tires are S*** aren't they.

Just an update, I got to take a drive with a tech yesterday evening. He couldn't get the vehicle to do it when he drove it. We let it sit for another 8 hours, I took him out, and it did it right away. His reaction? "Yep, thats a tire problem". He's evidentally their go-to-guy for odd diagnostic problems. Said he'd hook my wheels up to the new machine they got for balance and alignment and take care of it himself. Just waiting to hear back from them now.

thank god the problem showed up while the guy was there. Good Luck

The wheels should be balanced using a Haweka Adapter, somtimes call a finger plate adapter.

Look up Toyota Service Bulletin SU002-96

It took the steering wheel wobble out of my 1999 4runner but it took me 4 years to fiqure it out.

I don't claim to definitively know what's causing YOUR problem, but I can share my experience with a very similar situation.

I had a similar situation on cooler mornings (cooler for Florida, that is) on my prior vehicle. It occurred only when I switched tires from the stock Goodyear Eagle LS's to a Pirelli Scorpion ATR.

Essentially, after sitting all night, the tire gave me a "shimmy" in the steering wheel and a bumpy seat-of-the-pants feel until the tires warmed up in a few miles.

Again, the Pirelli tires are the only set I've noticed this phenomenon with-- no danger, just a minor annoyance.

Just an update. I got the 4runner back, and he's all fixed up! One of the wheels had been mounted improperly, and was way out of balance. The tech got it fixed up and now, no more wobble!